Fine Clocks Wednesday 12 December 2012 at 2pm New Bond Street, London Bonhams 1793 Limited Bonhams 1793 Ltd Directors Bonhams UK Ltd Directors Registered No. 4326560 Robert Brooks Chairman, Colin Sheaf Deputy Chairman, Colin Sheaf Chairman, Jonathan Baddeley, Antony Bennett, Iain Rushbrook, John Sandon, Tim Schofield, Registered Office: Montpelier Galleries Malcolm Barber Group Managing Director, Matthew Bradbury, Harvey Cammell, Simon Cottle, Veronique Scorer, James Stratton, Roger Tappin, Matthew Girling CEO UK and Europe, Andrew Currie, David Dallas, Paul Davidson, Jean Ghika, Shahin Virani, David Williams, Michael Wynell-Mayow. Montpelier Street, Geoffrey Davies, Jonathan Horwich, James Knight, Charles Graham-Campbell, Miranda Grant, Robin Hereford, London SW7 1HH Patrick Meade, Caroline Oliphant, Hugh Watchorn. Charles Lanning, Camilla Lombardi, Fergus Lyons, +44 (0) 20 7393 3900 Paul Maudsley, Gordon McFarlan, Andrew McKenzie, +44 (0) 20 7393 3905 fax Simon Mitchell, Jeff Muse, Mike Neill, Charlie O’Brien, David Park, Giles Peppiatt, Peter Rees, Julian Roup, Fine Clocks Wednesday 12 December 2012 at 2pm New Bond Street, London Bonhams Enquiries Customer Services 101 New Bond Street James Stratton M.R.I.C.S Monday to Friday 8.30am to 6pm London W1S 1SR + 44 (0) 20 7468 8364 +44 (0) 20 7447 7447 [email protected] www.bonhams.com Please see back of catalogue Charles Crisford Viewing +44 (0) 20 7468 8371 for important notice to bidders Sunday 9 December 11am to 3pm [email protected] Monday 10 December 9am to 4.30pm Illustrations Tuesday 11 December 9am to 4.30pm Administrator Front cover: Lot 18 Wednesday 12 December 9am to 12pm Alexandra Viano Back cover: Lot 131 +44 (0) 20 7468 5842 Inside front: Lots 21 Bids [email protected] Inside back: Lots 132, 133, 131 +44 (0) 20 7447 7448 +44 (0) 20 7447 7401 fax Sale Number: 19809 To bid via the internet please visit Live online bidding is www.bonhams.com Catalogue: £18 available for this sale Please email [email protected] Please note that bids should be with “Live bidding” in the subject submitted no later than 24 hours line 48 hours before the auction before the sale. New bidders must to register for this service. also provide proof of identity when submitting bids. Failure to do this may result in your bids not being processed. Please note Bonhams will close for business at 1pm on Friday 21 December 2012 and reopen at 9am on Wednesday 2 January 2013. Bonhams 1793 Limited Bonhams 1793 Ltd Directors Bonhams UK Ltd Directors Registered No. 4326560 Robert Brooks Chairman, Colin Sheaf Deputy Chairman, Colin Sheaf Chairman, Jonathan Baddeley, Antony Bennett, Iain Rushbrook, John Sandon, Tim Schofield, Registered Office: Montpelier Galleries Malcolm Barber Group Managing Director, Matthew Bradbury, Harvey Cammell, Simon Cottle, Veronique Scorer, James Stratton, Roger Tappin, Matthew Girling CEO UK and Europe, Andrew Currie, David Dallas, Paul Davidson, Jean Ghika, Shahin Virani, David Williams, Michael Wynell-Mayow. Montpelier Street, Geoffrey Davies, Jonathan Horwich, James Knight, Charles Graham-Campbell, Miranda Grant, Robin Hereford, London SW7 1HH Patrick Meade, Caroline Oliphant, Hugh Watchorn. Charles Lanning, Camilla Lombardi, Fergus Lyons, +44 (0) 20 7393 3900 Paul Maudsley, Gordon McFarlan, Andrew McKenzie, +44 (0) 20 7393 3905 fax Simon Mitchell, Jeff Muse, Mike Neill, Charlie O’Brien, David Park, Giles Peppiatt, Peter Rees, Julian Roup, Central Sale Information Middlesex Hospital Park Royal Coronation Road W Bonhams, e d s P t Park Royal a e a rn r o A k R v e R e s A4 o 0 a y Park a h l C Royal Western Ave A40 R o 0 Station a 0 d Acton 0 4 Cemetery North A Acton d Station a o R a i r o t c i V Bids Important Notice to Lots may be released from Payment at time Horn Lane +44 (0) 20 7447 7448 West Acton Bonhams warehouse on Buyers Collection & Station of collection +44 (0) 20 7447 7401 fax Storage After Sale production of the Collection Order By credit card / debit card To bid via the internet please visit Sold lots marked with a special obtained from cashiers office www.bonhams.com symbol W will be only retained at Bonhams, Knightsbridge or Important Notice at Bonhams New Bond Street New Bond Street and a form of A surcharge of 3% is applicable Payments until 5pm on the day of the sale. photographic ID. 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Lots must For information and estimates Bonhams Warehouse All other Lots Ω be exported within 30 days of on domestic and international Address: shipping as well as export licenses Unit 1, Sovereign Park Transfer per lot £10.00 Bonhams’ receipt of payment and please contact Bonhams Shipping Coronation Road Daily storage per lot £1.70 within 3 months of the sale date. Department on: Park Royal, London NW10 7QP For all other lots export must take place within 3 months of the sale +44 (0) 20 8963 2849 Tel: +44 (0) 87 0811 3867 All the above charges are exclusive Hours of opening 9.30am to 4.30pm date. +44 (0) 20 8963 2850 of VAT. +44 (0) 20 7629 9673 fax Monday to Friday For further VAT information please [email protected] Payment in advance contact: Tel: +44 (0) 20 7393 3912/3913 [email protected] to ascertain amount due by: cash, cheque with banker’s card, credit card, bank draft or traveller’s cheque. Fine Clocks Lots 1 - 158 Fine Clocks | 3 1 A rare mid 19th century French gilt and patinated bronze mystery Throughout Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin’s life the magical and the clock mechanical were always deeply intertwined. We see this dichotomy best Robert-Houdin expressed in his famous stage acts such as “The Marvellous Orange The painted glass 4.25 inch Roman dial with single arrow hand within Tree” and his unique horological designs. a gilt bezel, raised upon foliate scroll supports, mounted on the shaped base with applied figural and foliate mounts and square plinth base Born into a family of clockmakers in 1805, young Jean Eugène was a with shell and scroll mouldings, set on a giltwood base with conforming lover of the mechanical arts, especially automatons and soon began an foliate decoration, the twin train drum movement with silk suspension apprenticeship under his cousin Jean Martin Robert. Soon after, Jean and countwheel strike on a bell, the dial rotated by means of a lead-off Eugène began to work for Noriet, a prominent clockmaker in Tours arbour from a pinwheel engaging with the toothed edge of the dial. and it was here that he met the famous conjurer Giovanni Torrini. 37cm (14.5in) clock, 43cm (17in) overall. After moving to Paris to start a comedy company, Jean Eugène met his £7,000 - 10,000 future wife, Josèphe Cécile Egaltine Houdin, a daughter of the famous €8,800 - 13,000 clockmaker, Jacques-François Houdin, who had studied under the great US$11,000 - 16,000 Abraham Louis Breguet. After their marriage, Jean Eugène changed his last name to “Robert-Houdin,” and with this change came a great Provenance: rebirth for the artist whose career as both an illusionist, inventor and The Joseph M.Meraux Collection of Rare and Unusual Clocks, Sotheby’s horologist soon soared to incredible heights. New York, Monday 28th June 1993, lot 257. This rare clock is part of his second series of clocks made from the late An identical clock was sold at Bonhams New York, September 24th, 1830s. It is around this time that Robert-Houdin began to make mystery 2012, lot 5268 with the following biographical information: clocks with glass dials and their movements hidden in the base of the clock.